A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to data processing systems and, more particularly, to a method for personalizing electronic mail messages.
B. Description of the Related Art
Electronic mail (e-mail) has become an increasingly popular and efficient means of communication. Whether involving intraoffice communication or interoffice communication between distant geographic sites, e-mail provides users with an efficient tool for sending messages that far surpasses traditional forms of communication, such as telephone or postal mail.
Some e-mail systems can use formatting languages, such as the well known HyperText Markup Language (HTML), to incorporate information besides text data in an e-mail message. HTML provides the ability to incorporate text and graphics into a document by using xe2x80x9ctags.xe2x80x9d HTML tags are codes that identify an element in a document, such as a heading or a font, for the purpose of formatting information in the HTML document. For example, the tag xe2x80x9c less than BOLD greater than xe2x80x9d indicates that the text should appear bold. These e-mail systems are known as HTML-compatible e-mail systems. An example of an HTML compatible e-mail system is the Netscape Communicator e-mail system available from Netscape Corporation of MountainView, Calif.
Most HTML-compatible e-mail systems use a mime HTML (MHTML) standard to include HTML formatted information into an e-mail message. The MTHML standard dictates that an e-mail message is sent in both an HTML format and a text format without HTML tags. The receiving e-mail system will only show the HTML version if it is HTML-compatible, otherwise it will show the text version. Although HTML-compatible e-mail systems can incorporate graphics and special formatting to an e-mail message using the MHTML standard, they do not provide the ability to personalize e-mail messages. This limitation often makes messages somewhat impersonal because they lack anything identifiable to the sender.
Thus, since conventional e-mail systems cannot be used to personalize their messages, it is desirable to improve e-mail systems.
Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the present invention provide an e-mail customization system that incorporates personalized or customized images, including hand-written signatures, into existing e-mail messages, web-based e-mail messages or electronic greeting cards. Specifically, the e-mail customization system, also known as Sign-it, generates customized software that integrates with existing e-mail systems and that provides the ability to select different handwritten signatures and manipulate various attributes of the signature. Once a signature is selected, the signature is included in e-mail sent from the user. A recipient e-mail system, such as one capable of displaying HTML e-mail messages, views the e-mail message with the signature. This signature provides a readily discernable visual queue indicating the sender of the e-mail message. In case the recipient""s e-mail system does not recognize HTML formatted messages, a clean copy of the e-mail message and an alternate text version of the image is added to the HTML message.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is executed by a data processing system. According to this method, the data processing system receives a form that includes an image into the data processing system, and generates customized software that includes the image.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is performed by a client computer for generating software. This method transmits a form including an image from the client computer to a server computer and receives customized software that includes the image from the server.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is performed by a client computer for making images available for insertion into an electronic mail message. This method transmits a form including an image to a server computer and receives customized software from the server that includes the image.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided of completing forms. This method generates a form that includes information associated with a user, sends the form to a client computer such that the user adds additional information to the form, and receives the form from the client computer including the additional user information.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided for managing forms. According to this method, a client computer receives the form containing user information from a server computer, displays the form on the client computer using a browser, receives additional user information into the form, and sends the form including the additional user information to the server computer.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is performed by a computer system connected to a communication mechanism for monitoring the communication mechanism. In this method, a form is sent from the computer system through the communication mechanism. and back to the computer system. The computer system determines whether a form has been received in an uncorrupted state and detects that an error has occurred when it is determined that the form has not been received in an uncorrupted state.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method for processing a form is provided. The data processing system has a form including a first detection area and a second detection area. This method examines the first detection area to determine whether the expected data is contained in the first detection area, examines the second detection area to determine whether the expected data is contained in the second detection area, and determines that the form is unrecognizable when it is determined that the second detection area also does not contain the expected data.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided for verifying an e-mail message. This method receives user input containing an e-mail address into the data processing system, sends a message to the e-mail address to verify the e-mail address, determines whether an indication that the message was undeliverable is received within a predetermined period of time, and determines that the e-mail address is invalid when the indication is received within the predetermined period of time.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method, executed by a data processing system, is provided for processing an image with attributes. This method modifies at least one of the attributes of the image to make a resultant image responsive to user input, stores the image persistently on a secondary storage device, and retrieves the image from the secondary storage device responsive to user input requesting a reversal of the attribute modification.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method, executed by a data processing system, is provided for processing an image within an image area and a tolerance limit for cropping an image. This method locates within the image area a crop area that contains the image having minimal whitespace, expands the crop area by the tolerance limit, and crops the expanded crop area.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided for managing forms. This method displays a first form in a browser. The first form contains information and a link to a second form. The method then receives user input, selects the link to the second form, and displays the second form in the browser. The second form contains the same information as contained in the first form and the second form is sized differently than the first form.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is executed by a data processing system for processing a form. The form contains a first barcode and a second barcode containing information identifying a user. This method receives the form into the data processing system, extracts the first and second barcodes from the form, determines whether the first barcode is readable, and examines the second barcode when it is determined that the first barcode is unreadable to identify the user.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided in a server computer. The method generates a form containing information suitable for transmission by a facsimile machine responsive to user information including a phone number of the facsimile machine, sends the form to a remote device located via the facsimile machine and receives the form with additional user information from the remote device.
In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided in a data processing system. According to this method, a handwritten image is received into the data processing system and the handwritten image in incorporated into an electronic greeting card.